Processors and related computer components are becoming more powerful with increasing capabilities, resulting in increasing amounts of heat dissipated from these components. Similarly, package and die sizes of the components are decreasing or remaining the same, which increases the amount of heat energy given off by the component for a given unit of surface area. Furthermore, as computer-related equipment becomes more powerful, more chips are mounted to the printed circuit board, and more and more components are being placed inside the equipment or chassis which is also decreasing in size, resulting in additional heat generation in a smaller volume of space. Increased temperatures can potentially damage the components of the equipment, or reduce the lifetime of the individual components and equipment. In addition, some components are more susceptible to damage resulting from stress and strain occurring during testing, packaging, and use.
One prior art method of bonding a microelectronic die to a heat spreader includes a packaging technology that places one or more thinned dice on a planar heat spreader and secures the dice on to the heat spreader using a bonding process involving an adhesive material, such as solder, or a polymeric material, or, in the alternative, using a direct metallurgical bond, such as may be formed by an interdiffusion of Au (gold) and Si (silicon). Where a metallurgical bond is to be established as noted above, such a prior art process however requires a heating of the die/heat spreader assembly in order to form the bond.
Disadvantageously, however, heating to create the bond as noted above may involve temperatures from about 150 to about 300 degrees Celsius, and may as a result create unwanted stresses and cracking involving the die, the heat spreader and/or the bonding material (or thermal interface material, hereinafter “TIM”) therebetween during a cool down phase of the bonding process. In addition, unwanted stresses on the die can disadvantageously have a negative impact on the performance of circuit components on the die. Moreover, where gold is used as part of the solder bonding of the die to the heat spreader, a cost of the package is disadvantageously increased. Furthermore, since the prior art involves the use of a TIM to establish a bonding of the die to the heat spreader, thermal resistance of the TIM can disadvantageously negatively impact a performance of circuit components of the die.
The prior art fails to provide a reliable, simple and cost-effective technique of providing a microelectronic die exhibiting improved heat dissipation characteristics.